The invention relates to roadway markings for regulating traffic and pedestrians, and more particularly to illuminated roadway markings.
Currently, vehicle and pedestrian traffic on roadways is guided by lines painted on the asphalt or concrete. Such lines may include reflective material, such as glass spheres embedded in the highway paint, or plastic reflectors embedded in the asphalt, to make them more visible at night. Such guiding lines include highway center lines, lane marking lines, lines delineating the roadway edge, and lines for pedestrian cross-walks, typically at intersections. Vehicle and pedestrian traffic at intersections is directed by traffic lights which are automatically controlled. However most traffic accidents still occur at intersections due to inattention to these signals.
Illuminated guides have long been used to assist airline pilots for landing on airport runways. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 2,332,362 issued Oct. 19, 1943 discloses a lamp used for runway marking. Illuminated markings have also been designed for highway marking. Typically such illuminated markings utilize discrete, discontinuous light sources powered by a battery or a pair of conductors. See for example U.S. Pat. No. 3,996,556 Eigenmann issued Dec. 7, 1976 and U.S. Pat. No. 4,080,085 Dickson issued Mar. 21, 1978. Such systems have not gained acceptance due to the expense of installing and maintaining such systems, nor has an effective guidance system for intersections been devised.
There is therefore a need for an illuminated traffic guidance system which guides vehicles and pedestrians at intersections and which is economic to install and maintain.
The present invention therefore provides a roadway illuminated guide path comprising a continuously illuminated fibre optic cable embedded in the surface of the roadway. The roadway guide path comprises a light source optically connected to the fibre optic cable. The invention further provides a system for guiding vehicular and pedestrian traffic at a controlled intersection of two roadways, each roadway forming left turn and forward lanes in each direction, the system comprising: a) illuminated guide paths for left turn and forward lanes in each direction of each roadway through the intersection; and b) control means for selectively illuminating the illuminated guide paths to signal the desired flow of traffic through the intersection.